The game I played for this week’s critical play is Loopin’ Louie. Loopin’ Louie is a board game designed by Carol Wiseley. Loopin’ Louie uses a contraption with a swinging arm that holds a small airplane (Louie) underneath. Players take turns controlling paddles to flip Louie’s airplane away from their own chickens and towards their opponents’. The goal is to protect one’s own chickens from being knocked over by Louie while attempting to knock over opponents’ chickens. The last player with chickens standing wins.
Our group’s idea for checkpoint 1 is a mod of Twister. Instead of being played between individuals, our group’s idea involves two teams facing off against each other in a physical challenge game similar to Twister but with a different ruleset and different kinds of constraints that have to be fulfilled jointly by each team.
Loopin’ Louie has many similarities and differences to our group’s idea for checkpoint 1 in the kind of mechanics the games use, the target audience, and the aesthetic the games try to create.
Similar to our group’s idea, Loopin’ Louie is a competitive physical challenge game. Winning at the game requires good dexterity in flipping away Louie’s airplane. Players need to properly time when Louie’s airplane will hit their chicken as well as control the strength and angle of the flip to aim the airplane back at the opponent’s chicken. In our group’s idea, players also require good dexterity and flexibility to get their hands and feet into the various positions needed to win the game. These physical challenges also create a competitive dynamic in both games, where players try to win against opponents with their physical abilities. Unlike our group’s idea, Loopin’ Louie uses multilateral competition where four players play against one another while our game is team vs team. This means that in our game, cooperation and coordination within team is necessary to win the game, while Loopin’ Louie focuses more on the pure skill of the individual. That said, it is also possible to team up with others in Loopin’ Louie and utilize cooperation. In my game of Loopin’ Louie, 3 of us teamed up against the player who has a lead in number of remaining chickens by directing all our airplanes against that player. This dynamic makes the game a lot more interesting as alliances can be formed and broken as the game progresses.
Both Loopin’ Louie and our game are aimed at groups like friends or family. Loopin’ Louie is a good game to play between friends because of its silly nature. Similarly, our game is good for friends as players are physically close together in the game. One additional type of audience that our game is good for but less so for Loopin’ Louie is for teambuilding. Because the physical challenge of our game involves coordination between players on the same team, players could potentially bond over the game even if they are not acquainted before. Another difference between Loopin’ Louie and our game in building social connection is that Loopin’ Louie offers more room for socializing outside the game while our game provides immersive gameplay that demands players’ full attention. This is because Loopin’ Louie is a table game and while it is possible to play a very intense game where all players focus their attention on the game, it is also possible to play the game in a more relaxed manner and socialize with other players, or socialize in between games. In Germany, the game is commonly played as a drinking game. In contrast, in our game the socializing takes place within the gaming experience, players have to be quick to get into their positions every round and the physical challenge often requires the use of the players’ full body.
As described before, both Loopin’ Louie and our game create the aesthetic of challenge in the form of physical challenge. In addition, Loopin’ Louie also has the aesthetic of submission/abnegation, while our game appeals to the aesthetic of fellowship and expression. Loopin’ Louie is a fun game to play with friends to unwind after a tough day of school or work, possibly accompanied with drinks. While it requires physical skill, it can be played with the brain turned off just for a good time. On the other hand, our game requires more energy and active concentration from players, so it is more suited for a more intentional play occasion. The team nature of our game creates fellowship, and the many different ways that a team can fulfil the objectives allow teams and individuals to exercise self-expression.
